Urgent advice needed please!

DFWannaBee

So long story short, bought a 04 ford fusion Friday 31st from a motor garage nearby who also sell cars as well as their main function being a tyre centre for £1600, drove it home yesterday and that was it and all seemed ok. Went out in it today and only got on the M25 about 10 minutes from my house and the clutch completely went leaving me and my baby stranded on the hard shoulder. Tried to call them and they close at 1.30 on a saturday, no one in til Monday. Called the RAC out and we towed the car to the garage I bought it from as didnt know what else to do with it and in my mind surely they need to replace the clutch as I've had it for not even 24hours but speaking to the RAC guy, he said it might be my problem even though I have a 3 month warranty from the garage and I'll have to pay it as its a wearable item which I accept but seriously within 24 hours??! They assured me a full check was run on the car before I picked it up so how can this possibly be down to me to correct?

Any advice?? I have no idea if the sale of goods act comes in here or whether its just bad luck and my problem? Want to know what I'm talking about before I speak to the garage on Monday

Thanks in advance!

jaydeeuk1

24 hours with a sudden failure the garage must repair replace or refund. You did the right thing getting it dropped off there though. I'm guessing the clutch felt fine before and wasn't biting high?

Don't go charging in spouting sales of goods act etc, just say you've had a problem and want them to sort it.

goodfelladave

The warranty sounds promising, but if not presumably there could be a Sale of Goods Act argument? I mean if you only bought it yesterday, there could be a strong case for saying that when sold it was not fit for purpose.

sh0597

Hopefully they will fix it for you with not too much fuss.

Pincher

For future reference, you have to gather evidence as soon as the breakdown happens. Ideally, the RAC can issue some kind of report to confirm the clutch breakdown. Some photos at the breakdown scene would be useful. Most people have camera phones, but I usually have a compact camera, as well as the dash cam, which can be detached and used as a camera. This is in case you have to go to small claims court. Courts like to base their judgements on evidence, not something that comes out of your mouth: the other side can talk, too.

If you are really lucky, your payment was on a card that gives you some claim on the card issuer, but it's a bit unlikely for a second hand car. If you can, you still need to prove that it's not a fraudulent claim, and so an RAC report will come in handy. Even if it's just a reference number, with time and location of call-out, it's better than nothing.

This is just packing some ammunition, it doesn't mean you have to use them.

DFWannaBee

Thankyou for your replies!

It felt fine to me on the drive home from the garage and it was only on the second trip out I noticed anything but I have been driving an auto for the last 3 years so I possibly wouldnt have noticed it on that drive home as I was still adjusting to driving a manual again?

They open at 8am so I'll give them the chance to sort it without fuss but at least I know I could have a case under sale of goods if they try to be difficult

DFWannaBee

Pincher wrote: »

For future reference, you have to gather evidence as soon as the breakdown happens. Ideally, the RAC can issue some kind of report to confirm the clutch breakdown. Some photos at the breakdown scene would be useful. Most people have camera phones, but I usually have a compact camera, as well as the dash cam, which can be detached and used as a camera. This is in case you have to go to small claims court. Courts like to base their judgements on evidence, not something that comes out of your mouth: the other side can talk, too.

If you are really lucky, your payment was on a card that gives you some claim on the card issuer, but it's a bit unlikely for a second hand car. If you can, you still need to prove that it's not a fraudulent claim, and so an RAC report will come in handy. Even if it's just a reference number, with time and location of call-out, it's better than nothing.

This is just packing some ammunition, it doesn't mean you have to use them.

I did have the RAC report, the RAC guy was really good and wrote a copy out for me and put it in the envelope with the key that I posted through the letterbox when we left the car on their premises.

We paid on visa debit so dont think any protection as thats just credit cards isn't it?

harveybobbles

Sounds like master cylinder perhaps?

you'd hope they'd sort it for free.

shown73

I take it that its not cable, as in Mondeo??? Sudden failure is usually the operating mechanism, rather than the clutch itself, so pehaps (a) not such a big deal, and (b) just as much a nasty surprise to the garage. Good luck anyway...

shown73

Mind you, any breakdown on the M25 is pretty traumatic.

forgotmyname

All the Mondeo's i have had have been hydraulic clutches.

The slave is inside the gearbox. A bright idea that.